Adjusting Wall Connections

QUESTION

My wall connections looked fine, but then I changed something and now they no longer seem to connect at the main wall layer correctly. How can I fix this?

ANSWER

Specifying an incorrect wall main layer, or wall setting for a wall type can be problematic when connecting different wall types to one another.

To restore the main layer

If the main layer got changed and your walls have proper dimensions, be sure to follow the steps in To adjust General Wall Defaults before completing the following steps.

Select one of the walls that is part of an incorrect wall connection, and click on the Open Object edit button.

Select the Wall Types panel and click on the Define button next to the Wall Type drop-down menu.

In the Wall Type Definitions dialog, set the Main Layer correctly, and double check to ensure that the Build Platform to Exterior of Layer drop-down is also set to this layer.

In most cases, the Main Layer should be the structural layer, often the thickest layer within your wall.

Click OK in the Wall Specification dialog and verify that the wall connections for this wall type now display correctly.

Repeat this process for any other wall types in your plan that have an incorrectly set Main Layer.

If there is just one wall connection that is unique to your plan, you can use the Edit Wall Layer Intersection edit tool to change how that wall connects to other walls at that particular intersection. If you see that multiple intersections are wrong, you may need to adjust your Wall Defaults and Wall Type Definition. If multiple intersections are wrong please skip to the second and third sections in this article before trying the first.

To adjust individual wall connections

A feature introduced in Chief Architect Premier X6 is the ability to adjust the individual layers of a wall within the floor plan view. If you only need to adjust specific wall connections and do not want to change the Main layer of all walls of that type, use this tool to manually snap the individual layer or layers of one wall to the layer of an intersecting wall. This is especially useful for additions.

Click the Select Objects tool then click on the wall that you need to adjust where the layers snap.

On the Edit toolbar, click the Edit Wall Layer Intersections button.

Note: The Edit Wall Layer Intersections edit tool is only available in Chief Architect Premier.

Additional edit handles are now available on the ends of the wall.

With the Select Objects tool still active. Click and drag the edit handles to snap the layers of one wall to the desired layers of the other.

Note: If pulling one wall through the layers of another, as in the image above, a break in the wall is needed at that location. Click Build> Wall> Break Wall and click in that intersection to place a wall break.

To adjust the general wall defaults

If you have recently modified your wall types, you may have changed the Main Layer. In most circumstances, the Main Layer should be specified as the structural layer of the wall, particularly when the wall is a framed type. The Main Layer determines many things, including how walls join at intersections to the interior surfaces of their Main Layers. If you do not want your walls to move when you adjust the Main Layer of your wall types, you first need to adjust your General Wall Defaults.

Under Resize About, move the radio button to Outer Surface, then click OK.

Note: The above dialog was taken from Chief Architect Premier. If you're not using Chief Architect Premier, you may not have all of the options shown above.

These radio buttons determine what part of a wall retains its position when its wall type or wall type definition is changed. The Resize About location is also where any snap points will be located along a wall as it's drawn or connected to other walls, as well as where a wall's length is measured.

Now you can modify the Main Layer in the wall's Wall Type Definitions dialog without it moving the outside surface of the walls.